Who hears the fishermen when they speak?

I asked the following question on Monday (Oct. 17th) in the House of Commons:

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The Resource Conservation Councils aren’t the only thing being cut from DFO.

News has broken in recent days that further cuts to the science branch of Fisheries and Oceans are coming.

This branch has already been gutted.

Do Conservatives really expect to manage our future fishery without any science-based planning and with NO INPUT from the fishermen who work our seas?

John Crosbie once asked, “Who hears the fishes when they cry?”

Well, Mr. Speaker, who hears the fishermen when they speak?

The following is the House of Commons response from Fisheries and Oceans Minister Keith Ashfield:

Mr. Speaker, our government has made tremendous investments in science since 2006, including $30 billion to upgrade 16 laboratories and sites across the country, and $36 million to construct 3 new science vessels.

The government has focused on marine science. We have invested $14 million to complete mapping and data collecting in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans for Canada’s submission to the United Nations Convention.

We have done a lot for science –

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